A Final Stop and More Templars
After the experience at Mikulov, we headed back to Brno taking a short detour to a town named Čejkovice. I wanted to take a quick look to see if there was anything there worth spending time on later. Čejkovice was the second Templar establishment in the Czech Republic after Prague and the first in Moravia when they arrived in the 1230’s here. Just as in the case of Jamolice, the town’s coat of arms recalls their presence. Unfortunately, not much is recorded regarding the presence of the commanderie – only a mention in 1248 in a document issued by the Lord of Břeclav apparently. The history of the town is summarized as follows by the website of the Chateau – more of which shortly! Following the dissolution of
Read More »Feeling it at Holy Hill
By the time we reached the car from Templštejn, it was already early afternoon and after a quick stop for a late lunch, it was pretty much already dark. So we headed towards Mikulov on the border with Austria where in the morning the plan was to climb up Holy Hill. Mikulov is a beautiful town at the southern end of the Pavlov Hills and in the wine growing region (Palava is probably my favorite Czech wine). The town was founded sometime in the 12th Century and is today dominated by a fine Chateau at the center of the town standing on a rocky hill called Zameckÿ vrch. It was originally a Romanesque castle that was rebuilt in Gothic form and then as a Renaissance chateau and is now a
Read More »Discovering Templštejn
A prior trip to discover Templštejn ended with the realization that I had somehow taken a wrong direction – at least for a car – yet the end of that journey was a beautiful gorge in the Jihlava valley – well worth seeing. As we left Řeznovice, I determined to try a different route – one that took us into the village of Jamolice. Jamolice was where the original Templar commanderie was set up in Moravia according to the history books and the small village still proudly carries the memory of that in its coat of arms. Jamolice is a small village that essentially hugs the sides of the road passing through it. Once inside the village, we saw a sign pointing ahead to Templštejn but we drove
Read More »The Mysterious Řeznovice Church of St. Peter and St. Paul
This weekend, I was able to visit several sites around Brno. The first was the church of St. Peter and St. Paul in Řeznovice that I had noticed passing by on a recce trip to the Templstejn area in the Jihlava valley south of Brno. I stopped at the church because it simply doesn’t look like a Czech church. Pulling up to the church this time, I was again struck by how different the church is to the average church in the region. Excitedly, I rushed up to the door only to be disappointed by the fact it was locked. Oh well, at least I could look around the outside of it I thought when a woman’s head popped around the back of the church and said “Je to otevrene”
Read More »Looking for Templars by Brno
Another term I had never entered into Google along with my location was ‘Templar’. Imagine my surprise and delight to find yet again that the Templars had been located very close to Brno! Apparently, the Templars entered Bohemia in 1231 during the reign of King Wenceslas 1 (Yes – the one who looked out on the feast of Stephen!) first establishing ‘Jerusalem’ in Prague. Later, by 1248, they had established themselves in Moravia at Čekovice near Brno and by 1250 at Jamolice also near to Brno. How did I never know this? At the earliest opportunity, I was off to visit one of the sites – I chose Jamolice as it happens and the ruins of the Templar Castle – Templstejn. Unfortunately, I didn’t have too much time and was
Read More »Chasing Moravian Dragons
In following the activities of Sue Vincent and Stuart France across the landscapes of the UK – start with The Initiate which is a great read and will give you an idea of what they are up to – I was also pointed by Sue to the author Paul Broadhurst and just completed his book on the Green Man. Having read that book, I now also get a bit more of what Sue and Stu are onto in the UK and having just come back from a weekend of magic with them and others in Whitby, it got me to thinking…… what about here? Here being Brno in the Czech Republic. Well, the first thing that struck me is that Brno is symbolized in part by a dragon. The dragon
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